A Hero's Strength
by GaruAlpha
Summary: Sometimes, a simple change can cause radical consequences. A true hero, though, finds strength no matter the challenge. FemBakugou and Todoroki.
1. Chapter 1

The Butterfly Effect. A part of Chaos Theory that, summarized, states that in a small change in a system, can cause massive changes because of it. The typical example is the flapping of a butterfly's wings on one side of the world displacing air in just the right manner that it causes a sort of dominoes effect that eventually leads to a hurricane clear across the globe. Obviously, the hurricane wouldn't be the only effect, but to us, as humans, it is a dramatic enough change that it drives the point home that even the smallest of actions can have unforeseen and far-reaching consequences that we might never expect.

That is a small example, the flapping of a butterfly's wing. In a theoretical sense, a bigger change might cause even larger consequences. That isn't necessarily true, though. The size of the change need not be directly proportional to the results later on down the road. For example, what if the Y-chromosomes of two future heroes had instead been X-chromosomes? Shall we explore just how far reaching such a simple set of changes might go?

Izuku Midoyira, age nine, had gone into the city with his parents on a small shopping trip to get a birthday gift for his best friend, Katsuko Bakugou. Ka-chan was... Difficult, to say the least for the young, hero-obsessed boy. On one hand, he wouldn't trade her for any other friend in the world.

On the other, she was quite a lot to handle. At the age of nine herself, she was significantly taller than him, and had a powerful quirk that means she's almost guaranteed to one day be a great hero. At least, if her attitude wasn't so rotten. She was violent, loud, and rude to most everyone, save the Midoyiras. Izuku, she protected from the bullies that would otherwise make fun of his quirkless nature, and she had always treated his parents more like her aunt and uncle, as opposed to just the parents of her friend.

None of that mattered to Izuku, as to him Ka-chan could effectively do no wrong. That isn't to say he couldn't see her flaws, numerous as they were; he just shrugged them off as, 'It's Ka-chan,' and left it at that. The one thing he did get a bit angry at her for, though? Her insistence that he can't be a hero, since she can't always be there to save him. That did nothing to deter the boy, though, instead steeling his young resolve, making him more driven than ever to prove her, and the world, wrong. He'd even sworn to her that one day, that he'd take the U.A. entrance exam and show her that he _can_ be a hero, just like her.

Today, though, was a simpler time for the boy, his mom held his hand as they walk through Tokyo, trying to think of what the explosive girl might like.

The solution came surprisingly easily.

Dragging Inko over to the window of a shop, he started bouncing on the tips of his toes in excitement. "Mama, Mama, look! Ka-chan's been complaining about her hair getting in the way, maybe she'd like that?" He asked, pointing to a set of scrunchies and hair ties in the iconic form of their favorite hero, All Might.

Looking down at her son, she nodded, letting him drag her into the hero-novelty shop. "Slow down Izuku, they're not going to run out of them!" she teased him as they looked around the store, trying to find the hair-ties.

After a much more enthusiastic search than one might expect of a nine-year old looking for such a thing, the family approached the counter, paying for their purchase. "Okay, can you think of anything else Izuku?" Hisashi asks his son as they start to leave, the father having decided to throw the lad on his shoulders. After all, he wouldn't be able to man-handle his son forever.

"Daaaad, let me down! I'm too big for this!" Izuku half complained, his laughter giving his pleasure away at the 'childish' activity.

Inko was about to say something to her boys, but it was cut off by a loud crack, accompanied with a deafening boom. Turning towards the noise, she almost asked what's going on, only to be stopped as a wave of force and displaced air careened down the street, hitting the family and all of the other shoppers. Hisashi fell backwards, his back slamming into a car as Izuku rolled across the hood of the car. If one were to look closely, they'd be able to see the stream of blood flowing from the back of his head as he slumped down the side of the vehicle.

"Izu!" Inko yelled as she dove for her boy, sub-consciously using her quirk to pull his clothes towards her in a vain attempt to keep him from flying further away. She hadn't even noticed her husband's state yet; the man, having been a professional hero for a few years, she assumed he'd be able to take care of himself. While her mind could never hope to be torn from the safety of her baby, more pressing matters reared their ugly head as the shockwave now had a cloud of debris and destruction following it up. Loose garbage, uprooted signs and even individuals were all caught up in the maelstrom as it reached her, forcing her to hit the car with her husband as a sign hit her head, knocking her unconscious from the blow. Izuku, having landed between the two cars when his tumble had ended, was largely unscathed save for a few bumps and bruises from the fall itself. Covering his head with the bag holding his friend's gift, he cowered as loud thuds seemed to get closer to him; each one, in reality, the crack of a super-powered fist slamming into its target.

The fight was between two 'fated-foes,' for lack of a better descriptor, All-Might and All for One. The villain might not have the raw power of the world's symbol of peace and justice, but what he lacked in strength, he made up for in versatility and clever usage of his multitude of quirks. As All-Might rained hundreds of earth shattering punches at the villain, a fan of his might find themselves terrified if they could see him right then. Normally, he had an implacable smile on his face, a smile that showed the world- "Fear not, for I am HERE!" At that moment though, the smile was gone, his visage stuck in an unnatural snarl as the intensity of his stare has a weight similar to the force of his punches. Before him was the man that had caused so much pain and suffering throughout his life, killed his mentor, the previous holder of the title One for All, and even now mocked his heroic ideals.

Grunting as a black orb of energy crashed into his side, All-Might forced himself to grin slightly as he feels he has the upper hand. "Give it up, All for One. Surrender now and I'll make sure you only serve one life sentence." Almost as if to exemplify his point, he lands a staccato of punches into his foe's gut, the smaller man doubling over on the giant's fist.

The masked villain chuckled lightly, his voice only catching slightly from the pain of the blow that could have easily destroyed buildings. The fact he didn't go flying or die from the attack was a testament to his toughness from all his combined quirks. "While your offer is quite generous, All-Might, I feel I must decline. Besides, should I really be your main concern, when there are so many civilians in imminent danger!" Waving an arm across his body, he uprooted a telephone pole behind All-Might, sending it flying towards a couple slouched on a car, the couple of course being the two Midoyira parents.

Cursing to himself, All-Might leaped into action, getting in front of the car in time to slap the projectile out of the way. "Resorting to dirty tricks? Silly me to have expected-" He was going to say more, but the enraged man was cut off as an entire I-beam was sent through his chest. The blunt edge of the iron managed to pierce him, destroying much of his upper chest and missing his heart by scant inches. The couple behind him weren't as lucky. While Inko had only been unconscious, Hisashi had expired from the initial collision with the car, his skull having cracked on impact at such an odd angle. Inko would soon join him as the I-beam exited All-Might, tearing off an arm of hers before impaling itself in the sidewalk.

All for One's laughter was much louder and mocking than before now, as he slowly descended towards the injured hero, feeling he'd won. "See what your ideals get you, young man? Nothing but an early grave. Now, I think it is time for you to die." Holding up a hand, he floats just out of reach of All-Might, charging a larger blast that the one he'd hit him with earlier. "Goodbye, my foe."

All-Might was near to death, there was no denying that. His left arm felt near useless right now, the muscles supporting it not just destroyed but blatantly gone. His eyes though had the same determination as he'd had a moment ago, marred only slightly by the stream of blood leaking from his mouth. "If you think I'd let something like this stop me, you don't know what it means to go beyond one's limits." His eyes locked with his tormentor's eyes, he hooked a foot under the pole he'd slapped down just moments ago, kicking it up to his still-functioning hand. "TO BE, PLUS, ULTRA!" Using every ounce of strength he can summon, he swung the pole, not into the man, but through him, sending the black-clad villain flying, as even now he could hear the other heros and emergency services coming.

"Dang. Gotta stay awake. If I let myself fall asleep, I don't think I'll be waking up." Yagi stood tall, waiting for help as he heard the crying of a child behind him. Despite his drooping eyes and knowing he's in terrible shape, he couldn't help but strain to hear if the child was okay.

Izuku had avoided being hurt by the fight, by some act of divine intervention. The scary noises now gone, he scampered out from between the cars, his eyes panicking and searching for his parents. He didn't need to look long, though, before he heard his mom.

"I-Izu…" Her voice was weak, so weak he almost didn't hear it, but he came running to her. The young boy was almost struck frozen at the sight he found when he rounded the car. His mom and dad were on the ground, both leaning up against the car that All-Might was on the other side of. The way they were is what almost stopped him dead, with Inko's eyes unable to focus and her arm missing, little more than a stump left. Technically, she was better off than her husband, whose chest wasn't moving anymore. He can feel her quirk pulling on his shirt as her other hand was clenched tightly with Hisashi's, the woman clearly not knowing her husband was already long gone. "Izu, come to Momma," she managed to force out, her pull on his shirt fluctuating with every passing second.

Izuku didn't run to her so much as launch himself at her, clinging tightly to her shirt. "Momma, your arm!"

She attempted to lift her hand to comfort him, but she couldn't find the strength to lift the traitorous limb, having to settle for resting her forehead on his. "Shh, everything will be okay, sweetie. You're okay, and that's all that matters." The woman can feel she hasn't long for this world, silent tears streaming down her face. Not at her own death, but at leaving her son all alone. "Baby, can you do something for Momma?" she asks, wanting just one last thing from him.

"What, Momma? Anything, just don't go!" He shouted, understanding that she was likely going to die.

"Can you keep smiling for me, Izu? I just want you to be happy." She managed to get out, offering him a weak smile of her own as her quirk's hold on his shirt weakened further.

Izuku fought back his own sorrow, forcing his mouth to form a large smile for her. The only thing showing it wasn't real was the water freely flowing down his cheeks. "L-like this Momma?" He managed to choke out, his own body betraying him as he wanted to break down and cry for real.

Giving him a small, weak smile, she barely managed to nod her head. "Yes Izu, just...just like that…" Her head slowly tilted forwards before slumping down, her muscles no longer supporting the weight. She'd breathed for a moment, but then it stopped, the pull on his shirt leaving him with her final breath.

Not hearing his mom breathing anymore, he shook her, trying to elicit a response from her. "Momma? Momma?! Momma!" As the reality set in, he broke down, his promised smile crumpling along with him as he cried into her, his whole body shaking.

All-Might, unable to help or even comfort the boy, was little better, tears freely flowing down his face as the pain of being unable to save them easily dwarfed the pain from the iron in his body.


	2. Chapter 2

Toshinori Yagi was not in the best of places. A year had passed since his last encounter with All for One, and time had not been kind to him. He'd spent more time inside hospitals than out of them, the damage to his body, his respiratory system having taken the majority of the damage. He'd spent more time under the knife than most people would see in three lifetimes. Some of the world's best surgeons had worked on him, but all it had done was take him from Death's door. Not by much at that. Where once he'd been quite fit when he didn't have the power of One for All flooding through him, he now looked more like a living skeleton than a person. Combined with his reduced ability to stay in his buffed form, his body was on the decline. To the world though? He was still as strong as ever, making sure to keep his iconic smile the few times he'd managed to fight against villains during this last year.

None of that even touched on the mental damage he'd suffered. It might not be rational, and many of his friends had told him as much, but he couldn't stop blaming himself for the death of that couple he'd tried to protect. By extension, the fact was that their kid was left an orphan because of his inability to save them. This was a cross he bore despite any reasonable person knowing that he'd done all he could and it not being his fault. Today, he intended to lessen that burden just a touch.

Toshinori had used his connections in law enforcement, namely his friend Tsukauchi. The cop had been willing to bend a few rules and spread a net to find out what had happened to the child, leading him to the orphanage he was now in front of. At first, he'd intended to just make sure the kid was taken care of, but once he found out he was quirkless like he'd been? There was no way he wasn't going to take care of him himself, at that point. After all, quirkless kids almost never got adopted. He'd gone all out, even bothering to get a suit for his smaller, weaker frame. He could have easily used his connections to expedite this whole process, but it would have almost cheapened the act in his own mind.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped inside the orphanage, promising himself to not let himself get too emotional. Walking up to the office of the lead social worker, he knocked on the door, trying to get her attention. "Afternoon. Toshinori Yagi, I called you yesterday?" he ventured, trying to get her attention as she sorted through paperwork.

At first, the unexpectedly young worker was confused before she lit up with recognition. "Ah! Mister Yagi, right. You were interested in… Young Izuku Midoriya, right? I must say, deliberately looking for a quirkless child is… odd, to say the least."

Rubbing the back of his head, Toshinori smiled as he explained, "Well, I was actually born quirkless, just like him. I figured that it would help if he had somebody in his life that he could relate to. Not to mention, you know how hard it is for a quirkless kid to get adopted anymore."

Snorting, she just shook her head, handing him a stack of papers. "Alright, well, we have already run your background. We got an oddly fast response time from the agency. They apparently managed to run you through in less than a day." She gave him a somewhat knowing look, implying she knew he must have known somebody to have had that pulled off. "If you'd like, you can meet Izuku today and, assuming you hit it off, fill the paperwork out and take him home before the end of the week. After all, we'd still need to assess the suitability of your living arrangements for a child."

Getting up, she motioned towards the door, asking him to follow along. She led him down a hall towards the back of the home, opening the backdoor where there were well over a dozen kids playing and running around, several even using their quirks. This was something that was quick to set the young lady off. "OI! I told you lot, no using your quirks without supervision! I don't care if you're just having fun. No adult, no quirks!" she shouted. The few that had been using their quirks ran off and hid behind a green-haired boy who was sitting on a swing, a notebook in hand.

The green-haired child chuckled nervously, trying to not look too scared, as his face has smile on his face that Toshinori would recognize anywhere. It was just like the one _he_ wore when he was All-Might, a smile for those around him, not for himself. "Sorry Nana, I might have given them a few ideas on how they could better use their quirks. They got excited and just couldn't wait." While it was clear he had given them ideas, the way he was covering for them now was truly unneeded. After all, they'd made the choice to use their quirks themselves.

Sighing, Nana rubbed her forehead, coming up to the gaggle of kids. "Izuku, you have to stop defending them when they decide to do something wrong," she admonished him, messing with his hair, her small smile showing that she wasn't really mad at him, despite him having attempted to inappropriately take the blame. "So, what bright ideas did you come up with this time?" she asked, knowing that the kids were just dying to let her know what new ideas they'd tried out.

Toshinori watched with a smile on his face as the kids almost swarmed her, each trying to tell her first of their new skills that they'd figured out. He looked past them, trying to figure out how Midoriya is doing. While the kid still had a smile on his face, the hero could tell that it was hiding pain behind it. If he had to hazard a guess, he'd probably assume it was from watching the kids enjoying their powers, something that he'd never get to do himself. Shuffling around the mob of kids, he stood to the side of Midoriya, watching the kids with him now. "So, you gave them all these ideas?" he asked, watching as one kid showed his teacher how Midoriya had suggested using his Density Control to throw a pebble but massively increasing its density just before letting it go, so that it was like throwing a thumb-sized boulder almost. That demonstration led to a bit of yelling by Nana over the destroyed chair the kid had hit.

Nodding, Midoriya's smile was a bit more real this time as he explained, "Yeah. I really like studying people's quirks. I do write-ups on them and everything. You'd be amazed at how much overlap there can be between a pro hero's quirk and another person." Holding up his notebook, he had a big smile on his face as he showed off his hard work, the cover reading _Hero Analysis Vol. 2_.

His eyes widening a bit, Toshinori sat on the other swing, straddling it so he can face the young man. "You're on your second notebook already? That's quite impressive, young man. What got you interested in all of this?" the skeletal man asked, leafing through the offered book a bit and seeing notes that a high school student would have the right to be proud of.

Rubbing the back of his own head, Midoriya seemed a touch embarrassed as he started to explain, "Well, I wanna be a hero! I might not have a quirk, but I figure that if I work hard enough, I might be able to be one anyway. So, that's what I am doing, putting in twice the work of all the other kids, because it's going to be twice as hard for me!" By the end of his little speech, Toshinori was touched by the amount of 'can do' this little kid had. At first, he might have been intending to this visit to try and alleviate his own guilt, but this kid was actually a lot like a younger _him_.

Smiling, the pro-hero stood up, offering a hand to the aspiring hero. "Well Midoriya, I hope you'll let me help you. My name is Toshinori Yagi, and if you'll let me, I'd like to adopt you."

Izuku was almost floored, his mental gears crashing to a halt as he tried to process what he just heard. "B-but, I'm just some quirkless kid. I'm even a bit older than most of the kids here! Wouldn't you rather have a younger kid with a quirk?" he asked, his lack of self worth kicking in.

Letting out a deep laugh, Toshinori leaned over, holding a hand up to stage-whisper to Midoriya. "Let me tell you a secret, kid. I was born without a quirk, too." His piece having been said, he stood back up, letting the child process that.

Midoriya was torn. He didn't want to live the rest of his childhood here, and he had assumed he was doomed to, seeing as most adults saw him not having a power almost like him being handicapped. Now that he saw a way out? He couldn't help but feel guilty, as if finding a shred of happiness was betraying his parents. Keeping his smile on, his eyes teared up, trying to explain, "I want you to, mister. I do, but… my parents. I just don't- I don't want to-" Izuku is cut off as Toshinori saw the problem and knelt, wrapping the kid in a gentle hug.

With this man holding him, Izuku froze up, because the contact unexpected but oddly welcome.

"Midoriya. The fact that you are worried about forgetting them is all the proof you need to know that you'll never stop loving them. Just remember, they wouldn't want you to deny your feelings, they'd want you to be able to find your own happiness."

Izuku started to hiccup as a repressed year of sadness threatened to let itself out, the boy having taken his mother's last words to heart and never expressing his feelings, having kept on smiling the whole time.

"Let it out, young Midoriya, even heroes like All-Might cry when they need to." Not that Izuku would know it, but Toshinori was proving it right then too, his own eyes leaking as he comforted the child.

Those last words were exactly what the boy needed to hear. Knowing that even his hero could feel sad was enough for the dam to break, his body wracked with sobbing, choking tears as he let it all out, clinging to Yagi's new suit.

In the year that Nana had watched over Izuku, she'd never seen him let go, despite there being many chances and opportunities for it, and she knew it had to have been eating the kid up inside.

Having listened to the stranger's every word and knowing that after all this time he'd finally gotten Izuku to finally feel? She couldn't be more happy with this man walking into their little home. Corralling the other children inside, she gave both of them a bit of privacy, knowing that this wasn't something Izuku would want the other kids to see.

It took three days for the paperwork to be done, expedited as it was from Yagi's many connections. He felt like he was cheating a bit, but he just reminded himself that it was for a good cause. In preparation of adopting Izuku, he'd moved out of his spartan apartment into a full blown house. It wasn't like he didn't have the money to do it. He had a bit of a challenge in deciding between too large and too small, but he eventually told himself that he'd rather go overboard, much like everything else in his life. So, calling it a mansion might be more accurate, with a decent sized amount of land surrounding it, a small lake and forest included in his new property's borders.

Izuku's face was almost glued to the window as Toshinori drove them up the driveway, the child baffled at just how well off his new guardian seems to be. "Wow, Mr. Yagi, you must be rich to afford all of this!"

Chuckling, the man tried to keep focusing on the driveway; it was still new to him, too. "Yeah, you might say that. Kind of what happens when you work for one of the biggest hero agencies in the world."

Izuku's head whips around, an excited smile on his face. "Wait, you work for a hero agency!? What do you do? Which one? What pro-heroes do you know?" The questions came flooding out of the you man, unable to contain himself.

Now full-on belly laughing, Toshinori ruffled Izuku's hair. "One question at a time, kid. I work for All-Might's agency, I know a lot of heroes, and I do whatever needs doing." He answered, though not in the right order. None of it was technically a lie, even if it wasn't the complete truth. This only excited Izuku even more as he badgered him for details on his favorite hero, Toshinori remaining annoyingly tight lipped about specifics.

As they pulled up to the garage, the door opened, seemingly on its own, letting them park right inside. Opening the car doors, each of them grabbed a box from the back seat, the two boxes were all the possessions that had survived Izuku's year in the orphanage. Of course, what Yagi didn't know was that the contents of smaller of the boxes was almost nothing but action figures of him.

Foisting the box on his shoulder, he opened the door, leading into the kitchen. "Come along, Izuku, le'ts get your boxes to your room and you can explore, alright?" he asked, testing to see if the boy would be receptive of him using his first name so casually.

Izuku nodded, more happy to have a room of his own once again than worried about how Mr. Yagi referred to him. "Yeah! I can't wait to set my toys back up. I've had to keep them in storage since I moved into the orphanage, to make sure the other kids didn't break them." The excited youth nearly vibrated with excess energy as he followed behind the thin man.

Toshinori was almost tempted to go slow to mess with his charge, but refrained as he led the way what was going to be the boy's new room. "Alright, here you go." Opening the door,Izuku saw that the room was bigger than the old Midoriya living room.

Izuku wasted no time in rushing into the room, his mouth hanging open at just how much room there was. "Wow! This is huge! And this is all for me, Mr. Yagi?"

"Yup, all yours, kid. Now, why don't we put your stuff away and I can order us some dinner. Pizza sound good?" Setting the box on the bed, Toshinori started setting the clothes into piles for Izuku to put away, while Izuku start unpacking his the contents of said box, Toshinori almost bursts out laughing. "Bit of an All Might fan, eh?" He asked, the laughter demanding to be let out obvious as he spoke.

Izuku blushed a bit before smiling, unashamed at his fanboy tendencies. "Yeah! He's the absolute best! I mean, he helps people all the time! And he always does it with a smile. He even-" The boy went quiet for a moment as he realized what he was about to say, but still said it, his voice much less excited now. "He even protected my parents, even if it almost cost him his life. I know he didn't succeed, but… He tried and that's more than I can say about any other hero, right?" Izuku asked, unsure himself still how he felt about the fact that All Might failed him when it mattered most, even if it wasn't the man's fault.

Toshinori had no idea how to handle that ticking time bomb, so, he settled for putting it off. "Well, nobody but you can decide how you feel about him. Just know that I know about the incident and that All-Might is the reason I knew about you. I heard about what had happened and... He felt very guilty about failing to save your parents. He reached out to a lot of his friends and allies to make sure you were okay and helped me adopt you. He's the reason the house is so big, even." Once again, no real lies, just half-truths. Internally, he cursed himself though, 'I can't stand being so dishonest to this kid damn it. I… I just hope I can explain everything to him soon enough.'

Izuku's smile wasn't quite so big this time, but was honest. Toshinori felt the boy needed to get on making more of those, as opposed to the large, fake ones. "That's nice of him. He doesn't need to beat himself up, though, he took such a beating to try and save them." It is clear that he was done with that line of conversation as he set to putting his toys up, zoning out a bit.

Toshinori sighed, pulling his phone out and standing out he started ordering pizza. "Pepperoni okay, kid?" Accepting the nod for what it was, he headed off, letting the lad get a bit used to the new environment. Then again, it was a big change he'd have to get used to, too.


	3. Chapter 3

Three months had passed since Toshinori and Izuku became permanent fixtures in each other's lives. Truth be told, it was largely a learning process for both of them. Izuku had to get used to having the sole attention of an adult again, combined with a new school and trying to make friends. Toshinori had to get remember that he was shopping and cooking for another, too, in addition to having to clean up a bit more than he normally might. The other issue with the arrangement that Toshinori hadn't accounted for was the dent it put into his hero duties.

Knowing that he had to keep up appearances, he had broken down and contacted his old sidekick, Nighteye, to see if the Foresight-using pro could, well, see a solution. The answer was less than ideal in the number one hero's mind.

Sitting in his home office,Toshinori had a look between annoyance and disgust on his face as he looked over his once-sidekick's plan. "I don't like this, Nighteye. Using your plan, I'd basically be treating my heroing like a nine-to-five."

Nodding as he crosses his legs, Nighteye fixed his glasses before elaborating. "In all of my predictions, it is the best for you and young Izuku, in the long term. With this plan, you can make sure that he can have some structure and stability in his life, along with preserving your health to better enable you to take care of him. By using this plan, I predict that you can have him ready for One for All by the time he's thirteen, and able to handle one hundred percent of it by the time he graduates."

Taken aback at that last comment, Toshinori scratched his chin, never having revealed his plan to give the boy his power. "I never said I was going to do that."

Nighteye smirked; it was obvious he knew his old mentor far too well. "I know, but it came up when I was doing my predictions. In almost every single simulation, you end up being impressed by him and decide to give it to him. Considering what I see him do with it? You could have chosen worse. I recommend starting a light fitness regimen with him within the next month or so, encouraging him to chase his dream of becoming a hero, with or without a quirk. Mention getting into U.A., if he seems reluctant at all."

Letting out an aggravated sigh, Toshinori sank into his chair, slightly defeated. "Your quirk is so useful, but I always feel like we're manipulating fate when you tell me stuff like that."

Smiling, knowing he had basically won, Nighteye put the last nail in the coffin for his mentor's reluctance. "Did I mention that by doing this, you'll actually be able to continue your career until Izuku graduates, instead of in roughly five years, if you just carried on as you want?"

Grunting, All-Might didn't deny it, as he knew he'd caught on to his plan to continue as he had before the incident. "Well… That is an improvement, I suppose. How will this affect crime between now and when Izuku can pick up my mantle?"

Leaning forward and taking the stack of papers from the skeletal man's hands, Nighteye shuffled through them before placing them back down on the table. "This year, there would be a roughly five percent increase in petty crime, accompanied by a nearly fifteen percent increase in supervillain activity. We can reduce this slightly by talking with certain key agencies, but it would result in a loss to your image and have long term negative effects that would result in worse numbers in approximately two years and climbing slowly, until after Izuku graduates and starts his own career. With the current plan, the numbers would remain mostly stable, barring some fluctuations, with a small jump in four years."

Looking a bit more somber now, Nighteye's eyes are almost begging his mentor, as he asks, "Please, at least consider following this plan. I left it as open as I felt safe, and I truly think it is the best case scenario. If you won't do it for me, do it for the world. In no scenario are you able to keep up as the symbol of peace for more than five years. This plan gives us the least amount of time between you needing to step down and he can step up."

It's clear that the future-seer had more to say, but the conversation was cut short as the front door opened. "Mister Yagi, I'm home!" Came the voice of Izuku, the eleven-year-old having just gotten back from school. The young man was slightly winded, which was the downside to having a driveway longer than most city blocks.

Chuckling, Toshinori stood up, opening his office door, mischief playing in his eyes. "Over here, young Izuku. I'm in my office with an old friend. Maybe you'll recognize him?"

Sir Nighteye had not seen this coming, the small prank blindsiding him as Izuku rounded the corner, backpack still in hand. He looked up at the tall pro hero, confused for only a moment before his eyes lit up with recognition. "You're Sir Nighteye! You used to be one of All Might's sidekicks!" It was obvious the young man wanted to ask another thousand things, but Toshinori had, thankfully, curbed his inquisitiveness slightly during his stay.

Smiling at him, Nighteye offered him a hand. "And you must be Toshinori's young ward. I've heard nothing but good things about you from him." Shaking the hand happily, Izuku swelled with joy at one of his idols having a good impression of him.

Getting up and ruffling Izuku's hair, Toshinori comes up to him, chastising him slightly, "Yeah, the only complaint I have is that he still insists on calling me 'Sir' or 'Mister'. How many times do I need to tell you, Toshi is fine, kid?"

Blushing a bit, Izuku chuckled slightly before apologizing. "Sorry Mister-, I mean Toshi."

Shrugging, he just let out a sigh, "Eh, it's a start."

Nighteye can't help but chuckle lightly at the byplay between the two of them before grabbing his jacket. "Well, I'll be off, then. You have all of my findings, and I think that you should seriously consider this course of action, Toshinori." Looking down to his mentor's son, he offers him a small smile. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Izuku." With that, he showed himself out, Izuku too in shock to do much else beside watch him leave.

Toshinori gave Izuku a one armed hug, pulling him from his awe at meeting a pro hero. "Come on Izuku, let's get started on your homework, and you can tell me if anything interesting happened at school."

The prompt was more than enough to get Izuku going, excitedly telling his guardian about his day.

Toshinori had resigned himself to going through with the plan his former sidekick had given him, but that didn't mean he was happy about it. It had taken a week, but he'd gone through with it. Earlier that day, he'd spent most of the morning in a studio, preparing and going through an interview with Hero TV, the country's most popular hero news network. While it left a bad taste in his mouth to effectively use a bunch of headline chasers, they were his best bet for him getting to say what he needed to without too many issues.

Taking a seat on the couch in the living room, he called for Izuku. "Izuku, come here. All Might is going to be giving a press release soon and you'll want to hear this." A touch of sadness snuck into his voice as he did so, knowing that this might be hard on the young man.

Izuku got there so fast, it was almost like he'd gotten a speed-enhancing quirk. "Really? What's it about?" He asked, bouncing slightly as he took his seat.

Ruffling his hair and playfully pushing him, Toshinori can't help but laugh. "Relax, kid, it will start in a few minutes and you'll be able to find out yourself. Just… listen carefully, alright?"

He needn't have worried about that, Izuku's focus nearly glued to the screen as the end of the last segment played, a "Cooking with Lunch Rush" special that they liked to do now and then.

The moment he was waiting for was soon there, though, as the host motions offscreen from behind his desk.

Like many talk shows, it was set up with a simple desk where the host, a minor pro named Encour, sat behind, while there were a few chairs on the other side of the desk set up for guests. Today, they'd brought out the bigger chairs in anticipation of All Might's visit. Standing up, the handsome hero began, "Now, you know him, you love him, you have kept him the number one hero for the last five years, give it up for ALL MIGHT!" Towards the end, he'd started shouting, the audience loudly cheering as the hulking form of the number one hero came jogging onto the stage, his famous smile nearly blinding, on the screen. Taking the host's hand, Toshi shook it happily before taking the love seat they'd gotten for him.

Getting comfortable, the titan relaxed into the chair while waving at the audience. "Great to be here, Encour, even if it isn't the happiest of news I've come to share with you all today."

There is a wave of shock and curiousity the goes through the crowd and over Encour's face, before the host manages to collect himself. "What do you mean, All Might?"

While the smile didn't leave his face, All Might's posture showed he was less than happy about what he was about to say. "Well, before I let you grill me like any other interview, I have a bit of an announcement to make about my career and it's future."

Letting a pregnant pause hang in the air for a moment, he continued, "You see, as one grows and lives, their priorities in life morph and change to fit who they are and who they hope to be. During my tenure as the number one hero, I have rescued countless people and stopped just as many crimes. Which is why it is with a heavy heart that I must announce that I am going to be taking a step back from my crime fighting."

Whereas before it was curiosity that had swept through the room, it is now almost panic and confusion as his words register.

Encour almost jumped from his seat before catching himself, knowing he had to maintain his composure. "Uh, what exactly do you mean All Might? Are you retiring, already?"

Letting out a booming laugh, the symbol of peace shook his head. "No! I am merely going to be focusing on other things in my life now. I intend to still fight crime and protect this world from criminals, but I also intend to focus a bit more on my own personal life. You see, I recently started a family of my own."

There was another wave of excitement throughout the audience as they were shocked, All Might never having revealed anything about his private life before. Motioning for them to calm down with his hands, Toshi couldn't help but chuckle a bit at their enthusiasm. "Now, now, none of that. It's something we all hope to do eventually, isn't it? To be able to help raise the next generation and help mold them into heroes, in their own right? That is why I will be taking a step back, to make sure I don't neglect those in my life.

"Now, that all being said, I will still fight crime and save anybody who needs it. I just will be less active in the community largely. I do apologize if this comes as a shock to some of you or worry you, but it is what is best for my family. I hope you'll understand." At the end, he stood up, bowing deeply to the audience to show his sincerity, and hoped for their understanding.

There wasn't any audible response from the audience, the lot of them too shocked to respond.

Taking his seat again, he cleared his throat, getting the attention of the equally gobsmacked Encour's attention.

The host shook his head before dragging himself back mentally. "Ah, yes, family is important. Well, let's move along then!"

From there, they continued on with a normal interview, the show continuing as normal, save Encour occasionally trying to weedle information out of All Might about his new family.

Back on the couch, Toshinori looked down at Izuku, trying to gauge his reaction to the news that his idol had decided to step back from the limelight. Izuku was almost oddly still, trying to take in what he'd just heard before humming in thought, brining a finger to his mouth as he thought.

"Well… I guess even All Might is human. It only makes sense he'd want to focus on his own family a bit. When you think of it in that context, he's actually being pretty great in continuing right?" He finishes his train of thought, the last bit directed at Toshinori.

Surprised he was taking it so well, Toshinori smiles, nodding along with him. "Yeah, you're right. I wasn't sure how you'd handle it, so I figured I'd let you find out with everybody else."

Izuku nudged him slightly, letting out an annoyed huff. "You could have told me. It's not like I'm a little kid."

Chuckling again, Toshinori got up, shaking his head. "Alright, alright, I'll keep that in mind."

Pausing, he pulled a stack of papers off the coffee table before giving it to Izuku. "I got this from the agency. I know you've always wanted to be a hero, and I figure it's my duty to help you to the best of my ability. This is a fitness plan based on your specific build, and All Might agreed to get you a recommendation to get into U. A. if you can impress him. Think you can handle that?"

Izuku almost vibrated with excitement, his eyes holding back tears of joy. His mom hadn't even believed he could be a hero, but here Toshi was, not just believing him in it, but helping him with it. Tackling the skeletal man, he hugged him, nodding his head.

Surprised at the enthusiastic response, Toshinori returned the hug, confused at first, but slowly understanding. After all, he'd also been quirkless himself, once upon a time. "There, there, Izuku. I know you'll be a great hero. Now, I think you should get started, hm?"

Izuku didn't hesitate, grabbing the stack of papers back up and going through them, eating up the information like a sponge. And thus he started his path to greatness.


	4. Chapter 4

Katsuko was not the happiest of people. At the age of fourteen, one might think that an attractive girl with a powerful quirk would be popular as can be, but sadly that just wasn't true in this case. This is largely because of her abrasive and tomboy-like personality. Most girls have near nothing in common with her and have no desire to deal with her outbursts, while most of boys have no interest in a girl that tends to one-up them in everything. This resulted in her having few friends, with the few she hung out with being more hangers-on than actual friends.

Walking home after school, she let her mind wander, thinking on her lack of friends, wishing that she still had Izuku to hang out with. Sure, he was meek and couldn't do much, but he just treated her like her. None of that stupid dealing with suck-ups as she did now. That ship was seemingly long gone though since she had not heard from him since Aunt Inko and Uncle Hizashi… Shaking her head, she tried to distract herself, one of her hands absently playing with a familiar All Might scrunchy as her mood goes from annoyed to melancholy.

Tsking to herself, she couldn't help but grimace as she shoved her hands in her pocket, realizing she was just going to make herself sad if she dwelt on that kind of thing. Instead, she started thinking about U. A., since she'd be applying this upcoming year, and if she'd maybe find Izuku there. After all, he had sworn he'd go there and the nerd would probably be good at support or something, anyway. Not like he could make it into heroics without a quirk.

As she neared her house, she heard a moving manhole cover just before a warped voice spoke up. "Hm, you'll do for a meat suit."

After All Might's big announcement, Sir Nighteye's predictions proved to be spot on. The entire nation had responded with shock from the populace, and with a surge of confidence from the criminal elements. The first month had blown the told prediction out of the water, the number of attempted crimes nearly tripling in numbers. But, this wasn't much of an issue with All Might still able to _largely_ go full tilt and the other heroes picking up the slack. This was all a part of the future-seeing hero's plan since all of the impulsive villains being taken care of while All Might was still able to fight back led to record arrest rates before the crime wave ended.

The year after beginning Izuku's plan for success wasn't easy for Izuku by any means. While he enjoyed having help and support in his dream to become a hero, the workload was almost too much for him to handle some days. To his annoyance, he still hadn't gotten to meet All Might, but it was all fine beyond that. His eleventh birthday passed without anything special happening, despite it being his first one with Toshi, but his twelfth birthday, after nearly two years of following the plan, was much more special and impactful.

Izuku tossed his backpack onto the floor as he came into the house, kicking off his shoes, as he clearly rushed. Toshi had said he'd have a surprise for him when he got home, and he wasn't too embarrassed to admit that he was excited.

"Toshi, I'm home!" He shouted, his head darting about as he looked for his guardian.

In the nearly two years he'd been living with Toshi, the hero-to-be had shot up like a weed, just over five foot by a few inches. He'd also filled out, his still lithe frame packed with more muscle than most non-quirk enhanced people a few years older than him could hope for.

From the back of the house, a deep booming voice could be heard, "Haha! Back in the kitchen, young Izuku!" The voice was very familiar to him, but it couldn't be. Could it?

Running back to the kitchen, he literally skid across the kitchen tiles, falling on his back in his haste. Instead of crashing into a cabinet, though, he felt himself hitting a wall of muscular legs. Orientating himself and looking up, he was shocked to see the face of his hero, smiling down at him and trying not to laugh.

The booming laughter that filled the kitchen as All Might failed to contain himself proved to Izuku beyond a doubt that this was, in fact, his idol. "A-A-All Might!?"

Reaching down, the hero, was clad in a plain white t-shirt and khakis, an outfit he's seen Toshi in countless times. "Yes, it is I! All Might! Come to share a very special birthday present with you."

Izuku was confused as he got to his feet, curious about what ELSE he might be getting today. "But, you showing up was all the gift I needed. I mean, Toshi said he'd introduce us someday… Speaking of, where is he anyway?" Izuku asked, looking around the room for his guardian, assuming he had to be somewhere nearby.

Toshinori knew this was going to be unpleasant, so he decided to just treat it like a band-aid.

"Look no further! For I-" in mid-sentence, he allowed his muscled form to drop into his everyday thin form, "am here!" Coughing from the stress of using his 'big voice' while smaller, he spat up a bit of blood.

"Oh no, Toshi! I thought you said that you were… wait… but… All Might and… What?!"

Izuku was nearly mentally broken as Toshinori started cleaning the blood up off of his mouth, having managed to mostly avoid coughing blood near Izuku in the past, but his body had been weakening more as time passed.

"Yes, Izuku, I am Toshinori and All Might. I… wasn't completely honest with you when I implied I didn't have a quirk." It was clear he was very uncomfortable, but he tried to power through this.

"But… you said you were quirkless, just like me! Why would you lie like that? And why… Am I the reason why you started doing less hero work?!" Izuku asked, getting angry for the first time Toshi can remember at the thought that his idol not only lied to him but also would cut back on hero time for him.

Behind that anger though, a touch of hurt could be seen at the thought of Izuku not really having somebody to relate to when it came to being quirkless.

"Now, now, I never said I was quirkless. I was BORN quirkless. I know, semantics, but let me explain. I was born quirkless, yes, but I was given my power, my quirk, from my predecessor. You see, my power isn't a simple empowerment quirk like most think, but a stockpiling quirk that gets passed down again and again. I am the eighth holder of this great power."

Letting what he'd said sink in, he then pressed a finger to Izuku's chest, pushing him back slightly. "And I want you to be the ninth." He finished, Izuku's face completely gobsmacked.

"W-what?! Why, though?" Izuku couldn't understand. All of this was just too much for him, as he tried to process not only the fact that he's been living with his idol this whole time, but the fact that said idol wanted him to be the next, well, All Might!

Leading his charge to the living room, he got Izuku to sit down before explaining. "Well, at first I hadn't, but seeing your dedication to becoming a hero and knowing you, well, I would have to be a fool to not choose you." From the warmth in his voice, as he draped a hand over Izuku's shoulder, the boy knew that this was the truth, one way or another.

Izuku shot forward, wrapping his arms around Toshinori, holding back his tears of joy, words unable to express just how happy he was from, well, everything. He was not only being supported in becoming a hero, but THE hero believed in him. What could make it any better?

As the black sludge lunged forward at Katsuko, she turned towards it, her hands coming up to try and block it only to find the block unneeded. A green blur appeared between her and it, a fist slamming into the eye of the sentient ooze before its body was slammed into the wall. The shockwave from the action sent her flying back, the teen landing on her rear as she was forced to shield her eyes from the wind the punch had caused. While the villain was capable of taking a ton of damage, it was capable of being stunned as it was now. Seeing that the blob wasn't going anywhere for the moment, the new person pulled out his phone, calling somebody. "Hey. Yeah, I found him under the bridge near Fourth. He's stunned right now, but try to get here soon. Yeah, nobody was hurt; I got to him before he could. Alright, see you then."

As the hero began to turn around, Katsuko started to take measure and judge this person who'd appeared out of seemingly nowhere. Based on his voice, he sounded around her age, which made his actions technically illegal, not that she was complaining. The first thing she noticed about him as she looked was that he was actually taller than her, which was a change for her. He also seemed to be quite built, having muscles like most pro heroes. While Katsuko might not be a drooling fangirl, even she could appreciate a nice body, and that was exactly what she was looking at now. As her eyes continued to climb, she froze. No. There was no way in hell that those freckles and green hair are there.

"Deku?!" Katsuko yelled out loud, unsure if she was seeing things or if her best friend who had fallen off the face of the planet had just swooped in to save her like a pro. That part she would have been fine enough with. The part that was breaking her mentally was the fact that one, he seemingly had a quirk based on that punch, but even more importantly, HE WAS HOT!

"Ka-chan?" came the equally confused reaction from Izuku as he backpedaled, knowing that when she yelled, he was never wrong in giving her space.

"What the hell, Deku? I don't see you for almost four years, and you just pop up out of nowhere, punching villains? And HOW the hell did you do it? You're a quirkless wimp!" she shouted out, not having any venom; the girl just needed to know what had happened.

"I'm a late bloomer?" he offered lamely, trying to play off his quirk. He knew she wouldn't believe it, but he had to at least try.

"And then why the hell haven't I heard from you, at all? The last I saw you, we were at aunt and uncle's funeral! Why did you never write or call?" she asked, clearly more annoyed than angry at seemingly being ignored than she was at whatever was going on with him.

"I, uh, tried? I mean, I tried to call your house once or twice, but the number I had was wrong and I never got ahold of you after that, since it didn't seem like you wanted to talk to me anyway-" Izuku had started going off on one of his mumbling sprees, the presence of his best friend enough to make him regress slightly.

A vein began to bulge on her forehead as she started to get angry, unable to understand a thing in his mumbling and rambling. Storming up to him, she bashed his head enough to knock him out of it, the girl not realizing that she only came up to his chin.

Coming out of his daze, he started to apologize, "I'm sorry, Ka-chan, you-" The rest of his apology was stopped dead in its tracks as two slender arms wrap around him, his friend's head resting on his chest. "Ka-chan?" he asked, a deep blush climbing up his face.

"Just shut up, you idiot. I'm just happy you're here." She says, a small blush of her own on her face.

The moment only lasts for a moment though before it is ruined.

"FEAR NOT, FOR I AM HERE!" Came the booming shout of All Might as he landed behind Izuku, startling Katsuko, the explosive diva responding with a reactive blast of her quirk at the number one hero before she realized what she had done.

"Oh, no," is all Izuku managed to get out as the situation devolved around him.


End file.
